January 2002

 

Saturday, January 5 at 10:45 am
Bilingual Storytime with Billie Harris and Brett Taylor

We invite children and adults alike to join us for a grand time. Billie Harris and Brett Taylor---both of KUSP fame--- join us to read some delightful new tales in English and Spanish.

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Monday, January 7 at 7:30 pm
Frederick Crews
Postmodern Pooh (North Point Press)

In 1964, a young English professor at Berkeley published The Pooh Perplex, a slim academic satire purporting to collect a dozen critical essays on Winnie-the-Pooh. Insightful and searingly funny, it took academia by storm and gave the humanities a much-needed poke in the ribs. Fredrick Crews went on to become a leading cultural critic whose insight provokes critical re-evaluations of entire fields of study. Of the sequel to the Pooh Perplex, James Hynes, of The Washington Post says, "A brilliant and savagely witty skewering of the combatants on all sides of the academic culture wars...incisive and hilarious." English majors eat your hearts out. Join us for the roasting.

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Tuesday, January 8 at 7:30 pm
Susan Straight
Highwire Moon (Houghton Mifflin)
and
Andrew Sean Greer
The Path of Minor Planets (Picador)

This will be a magical night honoring two voices who emit strength and elegance from their refined, intricate fiction. 2001 National Book Award nominee Susan Straight "writes as beautifully about border crossings as she does about the blurry territory of families...Highwire Moon takes on a journey at once achingly sad and full of a vivid, unruly kind of hope", says Elizabeth Grayer. In The Path of Minor Planets, Andrew Sean Greer presents us with an exquisitely crafted novel about the lives of astronomers over the last quarter century that Kirkus Reviews called "a strong vision so consistently gorgeous...Greer successfully captures the spirits of both men and women."

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Thursday, January 10 at 7:30 pm
Ben Saltzman
Calm and Loving it: Finding Peace of Mind in Chaos (Create Your Own Vision)

As we leave a hard-hitting year behind and look towards the hope of the revival and renewal with 2002, Ben Saltzman is a man we should all have the chance to hear. President of Create Your Own Vision, author of Rules for Visionary Leaders, and dynamic coach of businesses and individuals alike, Saltzman shares with us ways to find peace and serenity in the real world. Calm and Loving It, a combination of audio program and workbook, helps pinpoint where and how stress originates and how to shake it. With great humor, a proven track record, and a workingman's knowledge, Saltzman delivers on his promise to find us a little peace of mind. (Catch a sneak peak at www.createyourvision.com.)

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Monday, January 14 at 7:30 pm
Patricia Monroe Arnold
Moving Up to Hollywoodland (Americana Publishing)
and
Robert Pardun
Prairie Radical: A Journey through the Sixties (Shire Press)

Join two local stars as they tell their true, fascinating, and radically different life stories. Robert Pardun's shares an insider's view of the Students for a Democratic Society where he held a national office at the height of the Vietnam anti-war movement. The sixties was a decade of radical change - social, political, and personal, and Pardun was at the heart of a conflicted, challenged nation. Patricia Arnold was born in Hollywood in 1925 when the magic of Tinsel Town was catching afire and soon mingled among producers and designers whose names are now legendary. There are tales to be told!

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Tuesday, January 15 at 7:30 pm
Greg Bear
Vitals (Del Rey)

The New York Times best-selling author of Darwin's Radio is back, and he has mastered the alchemy of suspense and science. "Not only does Greg Bear keep you guessing, he keeps you thinking. He is a master at turning a scientific concept into a crackling good thriller," writes Tess Gerritsen (The Surgeon). Scientist Hal Cousins has come close to unlocking the biological secrets of immortality, and those who came before him will stop at nothing to keep that secret to themselves. Join us for a night of mind-tingling action with what Stephen Baxter calls the "future of the thriller, and the thriller of our future: Vitals is biotech noir."

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Wednesday, January 16 at 6:30 pm
Book Club Meeting
Bleak House by Charles Dickens

On the middle Wednesday of every month, Capitola Book Cafe's Richard Lange hosts a book club meeting. Please join us this month for a discussion of Charles Dicken's The Bleak House. All meetings are held upstairs in the back of the store and everyone is welcome to attend.

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Wednesday, January 16 at 7:30 pm
Viana La Place
La Bella Cucina: How to Cook, Eat and Live Like an Italian (Potter)

The good life - la bella vita - is an essential part of Italian culture and the essence of Italian cooking. No one knows this as well as the eight-time cookbook author Viana La Place who brings us the passion with which Italians eat and the keen sense of pleasure they bring to gathering at the table. Her recipes are authentic, nutritious, and soulful; her approach to food, health, and family is frugal, joyous, generous, and respectful - the Italian way of living simply. La Bella Cucina is a flavorful mix of culture, life, and food and a vital addition to any kitchen library.

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Thursday, January 17 at 7:30 pm
Camron Wright
Letters for Emily (Pocket)

With sensitivity and simplicity, Camron Wright weaves a story that sings in poetry and speaks of family, loss, and surprising promises. Harry Whitney is dying and before the Alzheimer's disease that preys on his mind dissolves his connection to his young granddaughter, he writes poems to her, poems to help heal her own family, poems that contain much more than meets the eye. Intricate messages are hidden within the words of the dying old man, clues and riddles that lead to an extraordinary cache of letters and promise of gold. In the tradition of Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, Wright creates a memorable tale that speaks of the hardships of disease and the redemptive power of love.

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Tuesday, January 22 at 7:30 pm
Kat Meads
Not Waving (University of West Alabama)

"As seductive as pressing your ear to the neighbors' door to eavesdrop on their secrets, Kat Mead's stories pull us into the lives of seemingly ordinary people, startling us with what they reveal about our own hidden selves," praises Marjorie Klein (Test Pattern). "With mordant wit, a gemcutter's nerve, and an open heart, Kat Meads catches her characters as their composure slips, and the truth, in all its fun and fury, comes out," writes Lynne Barrett (The Secret Names of Women). Kat Meads, a versatile and creative author, has been praised for her collection of literary essays (Born Southern and Restless), award winning short fiction, and three volumes of poetry. A UCSC Extension professor and native Southerner now brings us Not Waving, a short story collection that is quick-witted, genuine, and immensely enjoyable.

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Friday, January 25 at 7:30 pm
Chitra Divakaruni
The Vine of Desire (Doubleday)

Chitra Divakaruni, the master storyteller of Arranged Marriage and Mistress of Spices, returns with a delightful sequel to her novel, Sister of My Heart. In The Vine of Desire, she explores the emotional ties between two lifelong friends -- and how they change when the husband of one is dangerously attracted to the other. USA Today has declared Chitra Divakaruni, "a sensual bridge between worlds. India and America. Children and parents. Men and women. Passion and pragmatism." We couldn't be happier to welcome back one of our favorite novelists to Santa Cruz County.

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Saturday, January 26 at 2:30 pm *
Carl Hiaasen
Basket Case (Knopf)

Carl Hiaasen. He's so good, audiences weep with laughter. Tony Hillerman has called him "the Mark Twain of the crime novel." Donald Westlake says, "Hiaasen is so good he ought to be illegal." Author of seven best-selling novels including Strip Tease and Skin Tight, his unique blend of weird hilarity and zany Florida landscape delight legions of fans. And booksellers. And, we imagine, beleaguered heads of states. In these complicated times, a good belly laugh is just what we need. Thank you Carl Hiaasen, for writing another mystery to us to enjoy. This is an event you won't want to miss.
* Please note early time

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Saturday, January 26 at 7:30 pm
Eric Schlosser
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal (Perennial)

The story of fast food is the story of postwar America. Though it was created by a handful of mavericks, the fast food industry has triggered the homogenization of our society. In the mind of award-winning journalistic Eric Schlosser, it has also hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity and propelled the juggernaut of American cultural imperialism abroad. In his startling book he sets the story straight. The San Francisco Chronicle calls Fast Food Nation "as disturbing as it is irresistible....Exhaustively researched, frighteningly convincing...channeling the spirits of Upton Sinclair and Rachel Carson." We couldn't agree more.

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Monday, January 28 at 7:30 pm
Carolyn Manzi
Bead Power: A Magical Journey into the World of Beads (Three Rivers Press)

A journey into history, spirituality, and art, Bead Power traces the significance beads have had in different cultures in the context of healing, rituals, creative arts, and relationships. Carolyn Manzi explores the meaning and powers of various stones and materials and their prominent roles within the cultures of ancient Egypt, Asia, and Native American tribes. An artist, writer, and jewelry designer, Manzi has lived and taught in France, Mexico, Italy, Japan, and Costa Rica. She now brings us this hands-on, whimsically illustrated book that teaches the spirituality and beauty of beads as well as the art of jewelry creation by designers of all levels.

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Tuesday, January 29 at 7:30 pm
Tess Uriza Holthe
When the Elephants Dance (Crown)

This stunning debut novel has received pre-publication accolades and strong reviews, causing an exciting publishing buzz. Inspired, in part, by the experiences of her father, who was a boy in the Philippines during World War II, Tess Uriza Holthe begins her story during the final week of the Japanese-American battle for the islands. Manila is in ruins; food, water and medicine are scarce; and the Japanese occupiers are terrorizing the local population. Through three very different narrators -- a 13-year - old boy, his older sister, and a passionate guerilla commander -- we hear stories of people forced to put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the devastating war. The spellbinding stories that unfold reveal the dramatic story of the Philippine islands and their remarkable people.

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Thursday, January 31 at 7:30 pm
Gary Paul Nabhan
Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods (W.W. Norton)

Gary Paul Nabhan, scientist, seed saver, and activist, is deeply committed to changing the way people farm, cook, eat and think about food. For one year, he limited his food intake to produce, meat, and other goods from a 200-mile radius around his Arizona home - with surprising results. Coming Home to Eat is a marvelous study of nature's bounty, an enlightening reflection on modern nutrition, globalization, and farming, and one man's unique view of "divinely local" - a pantry of foods that reject chemically packed junk and genetically modified crops that travel thousands of miles to appear enticing yet tasteless on the grocery store shelf. This is a primer for agricultural activism, full of successful local farming stories and shocking research into the industrial side of our food.